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On this day, South Koreans travel to their family homes and celebrate by cleaning house (to rid the area of evil spirits), offering a ritual meal to ancestors, paying respects to living elders, and then eating a traditional breakfast of beef broth with rice cakes or dumplings; as Korean age is calculated on the New Year for everyone, it is traditionally considered that one cannot turn a year older without this broth, so it is an important part of the meal. After these rituals, the rest of the day is for playing; children especially enjoy games such as kite-flying, playing on see-saws, and a game played with sticks called yut nori. Buddha's Birthday (Seok-ga-tan-sin-il) - 8th day of 4th Lunar month. Siddhartha Guatama is the central figure in the philosophy of Buddhism; he is given the title Buddha, which means Enlightened One, as he is said to have reached complete enlightenment, or nirvana, and to have left his teachings for generations of followers. Although the exact dates of his birth and death are a mystery, South Koreans celebrate the fact that he was born with a week-long holiday. The largest holiday in South Korea, everyone takes the whole week off to throw festive parties with colorful decorations and feasts. The Temple is decorated with lanterns for the entire month, and on the day of Buddha's birth, the Temple gives offers meals and tea to those who come to celebrate. On this day in 1945, the Japanese invaded South Korea but were repelled; this date marks the end of Japanese rule over South Korea, and is also known as 'Restoration of the Light Day;' it also marks the end of WWII. Three years later, in 1948, The Republic of Korea was established. South Koreans take the day off from work on this holiday, raise the flag, and have festivals over four days to celebrate freedom from oppression. Harvest Festival (Chu-seok) - 15th day of 8th Lunar month. Chu-seok is one of the most important holidays in South Korea, this three-day holiday occurs near the Autumnal Equinox and celebrates a good harvest. During this holiday, South Koreans gather the first pieces of their harvest and offer them in thanks to Mother Nature in order to ensure continued agricultural success. Families gather to pay respects to their ancestors as well as to feast on traditional harvest time foods such as kimchi, fish, persimmons, songpyon, dates, apples, and others. People also enjoy games like tug of war during the day and folk dancing at night. According to Korean legend, Hwanwoong lived with King of Heaven, but longed for the world of humans; the King of Heaven gave him control of the gods of wind, clouds, and rains, as well as many servants. When Hwanwoong arrived, a bear and a tiger asked to be made human, so Hwanwoong gave them instructions on how to do so; the bear became a beautiful lady, but the tiger could not follow directions. The bear, named Woongnyu, wanted nothing more than to be married and have a child, so Hwanwoong became human for her, married her, and gave her a son named Dangun. Dangun is said to be the founder of Gojoseon, ancient Korea. Now, South Koreans celebrate the Dangun's spirit and the day of Korea's establishment by making offerings of thanks and praise to the King of Heave. Everyone takes the day off from work, the flag is raised, and people enjoy the pride of nationalism as well as public speeches and martial arts displays. On this day, South Koreans remember the country's earliest attempts at separation from the Japanese Empire; this day does not mark liberation from Japan, but the first public declaration of resistance against the Japanese, and a series of demonstrations that resulted in the deaths of thousands of unarmed civilians at the hands of Japanese soldiers. Now, free from the rule of Japan, South Koreans remember the fallen and celebrate their independence on this day by raising the country's flag, taking the day off from work, and celebrating as a nation. This holiday, which is viewed by children in South Korea in a similar manner to Christmas in other countries, was inspired by Bang Jeong-hwan, an author of children's stories who called for adults to be respectful of children in a widely read open letter. On this day, everyone has the day off, and families take the time to indulge in fun activities and games. It is common to see families enjoying zoos, going to parks and museums, participating in fun games, and exchanging gifts. This somber holiday is set aside to remember the courageous men and women who have been killed during military service, particularly those who served and died during the Korean War. Workers take the day off, the flag is flown at half-staff out of respect, and each year there is an official memorial ceremony at the National Cemetery in Seoul. Hangul Day commemorates the day in the 15th century that King Sejong introduced an set of elegant characters to correspond with the Korean language, in order to replace the complicated Chinese alphabet, so that everyone in the country could express themselves in writing. The day used to be a national holiday, but is no longer celebrated with a day off; instead, people honor the King who invented their written language and enjoy a toast with nong-ju, a rice wine common among farmers and local to Korea. In the South Korea, Christmas has become a national holiday in South Korea, and Christians and non-Christians alike celebrate the spirit of peace, joy, and togetherness that Christmas connotes. Celebrants decorate Christmas trees, send Christmas cards, and exchange gifts for Christmas. Children have even embraced Santa Claus, called Santa Halabuji (Grandfather Santa), and wait for him to leave presents under the tree. Increasingly televisions and radio stations play Christmas songs and films that are popular in the West around the holiday. Christian churches host Christmas plays and take parishioners out caroling. Thank you for signing up! You have successfully been added to GiftBasketsOverseas.com’s email list. securely by clicking on the link at the bottom of any of our emails.